Service and Warranty Information

Limited Warranty Term : 2 Years, Parts & Labour

Weights and Measurements

Dimensions (Approx.) : 3-3/8x4-1/2 (83x114mm)

Weight (Approx.) : 1lb 14 oz (860g)

Features

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Circular Aperture

When changing your aperture to defocus the background, the light sources appear blurred. This ‘bokeh’ effect of the blurred background can be enhanced with circular aperture blades used in this lens. Conventional aperture blades have flat sides creating unappealing polygonal shaped defocussed points of light. α lenses overcome this problem through a unique design that keeps the aperture almost perfectly circular from its wide-open setting to when it is closed by 2 stops. Smoother, more natural defocusing can be obtained as a result.

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Aspherical lens elements

Aspherical lens design dramatically reduces spherical aberration while also reducing lens size and weight. Spherical aberration is a slight misalignment of the light rays projected on the image plane. This is caused by differences in refraction at different points on conventional spherical lenses which degrade image quality in large-aperture lenses. Specially shaped “aspherical” elements near the diaphragm restore alignment of light rays at the image plane, maintaining high sharpness and contrast even at maximum aperture and can also be used at other points in the optical path to reduce distortion. Well-designed aspherical elements can reduce the total number of elements required in the lens, thus reducing overall size and weight.
Advanced Aspherical (AA) elements are an evolved variant, featuring an extremely high thickness ratio between the center and periphery. AA elements are exceedingly difficult to produce, relying on the most advanced molding technology to consistently and precisely achieve the required shape and surface accuracy, resulting in significantly improved image accuracy and quality.

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Carl Zeiss T* (T-star) coating

Coated optics were pioneered by Carl Zeiss® -- and this superb lens features the Carl Zeiss T* (T-Star) coating that virtually eliminates lens flare, internal reflection and light scattering that can otherwise occur at glass-to-air surfaces. The T* coating contributes to outstanding image quality, with high contrast and uniformly excellent resolution right out to the image edges. Not simply applied to any lens -- the T* symbol only appears on multi-element lenses in which the required performance has been achieved throughout the entire optical path, therefore guaranteeing the highest quality.

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ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass

As focal lengths get longer, lenses built with conventional optical glass have difficulties with chromatic aberration, and as a result images suffer from lower contrast, lower color quality, and lower resolution. ED glass dramatically reduces chromatic aberration at telephoto ranges, and provides superior contrast across the entire image, even at large aperture settings. Super ED glass provides enhanced compensation for chromatic aberration.

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Focus hold button

Once you’ve adjusted focus to where you want it, pressing this button on the lens barrel will keep the lens locked to that focusing distance. The preview function can also be assigned to this button through the camera’s custom settings.

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SSM (Super Sonic wave Motor)

SSM is a piezoelectric motor that contributes to smooth and silent AF operation. The motor produces high torque at slow rotation, and provides immediate start and stop responses. It is also extremely quiet, which helps keep autofocusing silent. Lenses that feature SSM also include a position-sensitive detector to directly detect the amount of lens rotation, a factor that improves AF precision overall.

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Distance encoder

The distance encoder plays an integral part in ADI flash metering, which delivers high precision flash metering that is unaffected by the reflectance of subjects or backgrounds. The distance encoder is a lens component that directly detects the position of the focusing mechanism, and sends a signal to the CPU in order to measure distance to the subject. During flash photography, this data is very useful in calculating how much flash output is appropriate to the scene.

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Internal focusing

Only the middle groups of the optical system move to achieve focus, so the overall length of the lens does not change. Other important benefits include fast autofocusing and a short minimum focusing distance. Also, the filter thread at the front of the lens does not rotate, which is convenient if you’re using a polarizing filter.

Rated 4.9 out of 5 by 7
reviewers.

Rated 5 out of 5 by PZ1234 Great Lens
Great quality lens, very sharp, awesome pictures, but very heavy in weight and on your pocket! Overall I am happy.
December 5, 2013

Rated 5 out of 5 by Ocular Wonderful Wideangle
This is a wonderful lens. It is perfectly balanced with my A900 and provides quick, quiet and accurate performance making it a pleasure to use. I've used this lens along the rocky coasts of Okinawa, the humid swamps of Florida, the icy cold of winter in the Utah canyons and other extremes of environment and it performed flawlessly. I thought the weight would be an issue, and then I saw my pictures and decided the weight was a minuscule issue compared to the quality of the images I bring home. If you're serious about landscape or interior photography then this is a must have lens.
April 7, 2011

Rated 4 out of 5 by ewizzle Nice lens, wish it was a little bit less $$$.
I don't actually don’t own this lens, but I did try it out at the Sony Style Store. This is a massive lens; diameter is 77mm and weights a lot more than the standard kit lens. Because the lens diameter is so big, it makes me worried if it will create a shadow when the pop-up flash is up (Just a thought that you might want to check out before purchasing).
Construction of the lens feels solid with metal material, and the auto focus is virtually silent. You can see that it is focusing but you can’t hear it. When connected to my Alpha a300, I have to always have my hand holding onto the barrel of the lens – you cannot hold just the body of the camera because it’s so front heavy.
I wish I either had more money or this lens was less expensive, but this lens makes you take incredible photos with ease.
Attached photo was taken at 35mm, f/2.8, ISO-400 on a300.
March 23, 2010

Rated 5 out of 5 by Snappy Fantastic Lens
Oh my goodness. This is a great lens. A wonderful lens. What can I say? Seriously. It snaps into crystal clear focus so quickly and silently you don't even know its done it, and takes pictures so sharp and clear you won't believe it. Bokeh is rich and buttery, and when you zoom down to the details in post, you're not going to believe your eyes. "Where are the chromatic abberations I expected? Where is the haloing?" you'll ask yourself in disbelief. Then, you'll smile and pat yourself on the back for buying such a fantastic lens.
April 17, 2009

Rated 5 out of 5 by Twigger Excellent Lens, No Doubt!
This lens is great with the A900. The balance is perfect with or without a battery grip. Focusing is spot on, zoom is smooth, photos are exceptional. Had the A700 with 16-80mm Zeiss, and although that was a great pair, the A900 and this lens (or the Zeiss 24-70mm) is just that much better. Sold the A700 and don't see me changing up anytime soon (although I still miss the A700 as I hate to part with quality items). All I could ask for in a lens, as is the A900 for a camera body. The Zeiss line is worth it if you shoot frequently and want to enjoy professional results. Happy capturing!
August 2, 2011

Rated 5 out of 5 by LonnieUtah Go to Landscaping Lens
This is my go to landscaping lens. Paired with my A900, it has produced some outstanding images. I love the almost "3D" look this lens provides. I 100% recommend this lens if you are doing any sort of landscape work with the Sony's fullframe cameras.
The downsides to this lens are it's size/weight and it's cost. But when I see the images it produces I can't help but think that it's worth every penny.
For more images from this lens check out my site...
http://www.landshapephotography.com/
December 12, 2011

Rated 5 out of 5 by kingmo Travel and Landscaping
This is the lens that I used the most when I travel and great for landscaping.
It's sharp and crispy, Paring well with my A99.
November 17, 2013